Sand in LC

[skies]

Approved by blarajan

Sand has been one of my favorite weathers to use in LC, and there isn't a discussion thread for it yet! Let's change that!

Sand Effects:

Sand is a weather that chips off opponent's HP as long as they are not a Steel-, Ground-, or Rock-type Pokemon, with Rock-types gaining a 50% boost to their Special Defense while it is in effect. Sand also activates Sand Rush, Sand Force, and Sand Veil (which is banned). It also changes Weather Ball to a Rock-type Move and makes it 100 Base Power, but there aren't many common Weather Ball users, let alone one that can make use of it in the Sand. Pokemon such as Vullaby that have Overcoat are also not affected by Sand, along with Abra and Solosis, the main Magic Guard users. Solar Beam also does half damage and takes two turns to charge, but with Tangela out of the tier, that shouldn't be too common. Moonlight, Synthesis, and Morning Sun are all cut to 1/4 health max HP of recovery under Sand! Sand also calls off other weathers, making it a very good asset to other teams. Sand has many buffs to many different things, while also giving some other stuff issues!

Sand Setters:

Hippopotas
Hippopotas is the only Sand setter in LC, but it does a hell of a good job of setting it. It has access to reliable recovery, Stealth Rock, phasing, and good bulk, a blend that makes Hippopotas a great Pokemon. Hippopotas may be the only auto-setter in the tier, but it is a phenomenal choice!

Sand Abusers:

Drilbur (Sand Rush)
Drilbur is the premier offensive Sand Rush abuser, as it has access to a plethora of powerful moves and Swords Dance to amp up its power even more, it also has Rapid Spin to support its team if need be. Drilbur has very little counters, but it hits like a truck, 2HKOing almost the entire tier at +2. Drilbur is a staple on Sand teams as a huge sweeper, being able to beat the other Weather Setters with ease.

Sandshrew (Sand Rush)
Sandshrew is a great bulky Pokemon as a backup Sand Rush sweeper, forming a great core with Drilbur, as they eliminate each others checks. Sandshrew is also bulkier than Drilbur, giving it the utility to take on some more hits than Drilbur can. Sandshrew is a great sweeper in its own right, but somewhat struggles in the current metagame.

Lileep (Storm Drain)
Lileep is an incredible asset to any Sand team, and I recommend you add it to any Sand team you construct! It has Recover, meaning it can stay alive, it's got incredible bulk thanks to sand, and an immunity to Water, which is a threat to most Sand teams. Lileep is so incredible on all Sand teams and has great synergy with most other Pokemon that are commonly on Sand teams.

Gligar (Sand Veil)
Gligar is a great spammer in and out of sand. With Sand Veil, it can set up Subs and Swords Dance occasionally subbing when actually being hit. This set is very threatening, and is by far broken, and doesn't need sand to work.

Sand Nuisances:

Vulpix (Drought)
Vulpix is a nuisance as it takes away the beloved Sand away, but it is only a check to Sand, as it cannot switch in and stomach an Earthquake at all. If, by chance, it has enough investment to outspeed Sandshrew or Drlbur, it can Will-O-Wisp and cripple either of them, but this isn't terribly common.

Snover (Snow Warning)
Snover also takes away the Sand, while also having two STABs to eliminate any Sand sweeper, however, it hates Rock Slide / X-Scissor. But, Snover can Blizzard them into oblivion or just go for the Ice Shard. If it chooses to run a Choice Scarf set however, it causes a lot of issues for Sand Teams.

Sticky Web
Sticky Web is only an issue as it lessens Sand Rush effects, leaving the Sand Rush users prone to being revenge killed by Choice Scarf amongst other things.

Rain
Lol, not even gonna write about this, it should be obvious.

Thanks to Goddess Briyella for this, please read:

Hippopotas @ Eviolite
Ability: Sand Stream
Level: 5
EVs: 132 HP / 20 Atk / 132 Def / 180 SDef / 20 Spd
Careful Nature
- Earthquake
- Slack Off
- Stealth Rock
- Whirlwind / Yawn

With the weather changed to Sand upon Hippopotas switching in, the given special bulk guarantees these calculations from standard Vulpix (most of them use Heat Rock or Choice Scarf as the held item):

196 SpA Vulpix Fire Blast vs. 132 HP / 180+ SpD Eviolite Hippopotas: 7-10 (28 - 40%) -- 98.9% chance to 3HKO

196 SpA Vulpix Energy Ball vs. 132 HP / 180+ SpD Eviolite Hippopotas: 10-12 (40 - 48%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
Hypnosis is something Hippopotas would hate to switch into, true, but that can be said about any switch-in to a sleeping move, and the accuracy on it is quite horrible. In return, Hippopotas knocks Vulpix out in one hit while Vulpix is unable to finish Hippopotas off:

20 Atk Hippopotas Earthquake vs. 52 HP / 0 Def Vulpix: 32-38 (152.3 - 180.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Hippopotas still 2HKOs Vulpix if it gets burned, and can heal itself with Slack Off while Vulpix has no recovery. This Hippopotas set can beat out Vulpix, (and by extension, Sun) throughout a match pretty easily, especially now that Tangela is gone, and this is a very important thing that you might consider adding to the OP here. A lot of people think that Sun is undoubtedly the dominant weather in LC at this time and they need to know that Hippopotas actually counters Vulpix with this set and spread.
​

 

[chimp]

I feel like Sand is a bit more defensive than the others. Mostly since Sand doesn't actually improve any moves (unless you have Sand Force). What sand DOES boost is Rock type's Sp.D; making Lileep and Nosepass incredibly bulky. If I were to make a stall team, I'd probably incorporate sand into it.

 

[DTC]

You're missing the baddest abuser of them all: Substitute / Swords Dance / Earthquake / Acrobatics Gligar @ Berry Juice with Sand Veil. Not only is this Gligar terrifying enough outside of sand, but with sand, it can spam Substitute until the opponent misses (and you have a ton of chances for this thanks to Berry Juice) and then set up Swords Dance and sweep from there.

If you want to abuse sand, you should be using Pokemon like Gligar, Lileep, or Tirtouga that get a nice benefit from sand, but are not dependent on sand to do their job. Sand got a big nerf this gen, especially when you consider the fact that Hippopotas needs that Eviolite and can't afford to use Smooth Rock, so sand will only be up for a very limited time. I don't think using Pokemon like Drilbur / Sandshrew is the way to go, as they're not very good outside of sand (well, Drilbur is decent, but only if it's a Mold Breaker spinner, which sand abusing Drilbur's don't use), and even with weather, they aren't as scary as say Chlorophyll Bellsprout in the sun. However, using Pokemon that function fine outside of sand and get a nice buff in it works pretty well.

Hippopotas is also a good defensive Pokemon on its own, but most of the time, Gligar overshadows it. Of course, you could use both on the same team, but note that you will be compounding weaknesses.

 

[Goddess Briyella]

Copying this from my post in the Hippopotas analysis in C&C:

Hippopotas @ Eviolite
Ability: Sand Stream
Level: 5
EVs: 132 HP / 20 Atk / 132 Def / 180 SDef / 20 Spd
Careful Nature
- Earthquake
- Slack Off
- Stealth Rock
- Whirlwind / Yawn


With the weather changed to Sand upon Hippopotas switching in, the given special bulk guarantees these calculations from standard Vulpix (most of them use Heat Rock or Choice Scarf as the held item):

196 SpA Vulpix Fire Blast vs. 132 HP / 180+ SpD Eviolite Hippopotas: 7-10 (28 - 40%) -- 98.9% chance to 3HKO

196 SpA Vulpix Energy Ball vs. 132 HP / 180+ SpD Eviolite Hippopotas: 10-12 (40 - 48%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Hypnosis is something Hippopotas would hate to switch into, true, but that can be said about any switch-in to a sleeping move, and the accuracy on it is quite horrible. In return, Hippopotas knocks Vulpix out in one hit while Vulpix is unable to finish Hippopotas off:

20 Atk Hippopotas Earthquake vs. 52 HP / 0 Def Vulpix: 32-38 (152.3 - 180.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Hippopotas still 2HKOs Vulpix if it gets burned, and can heal itself with Slack Off while Vulpix has no recovery. This Hippopotas set can beat out Vulpix, (and by extension, Sun) throughout a match pretty easily, especially now that Tangela is gone, and this is a very important thing that you might consider adding to the OP here. A lot of people think that Sun is undoubtedly the dominant weather in LC at this time and they need to know that Hippopotas actually counters Vulpix with this set and spread.



Also, DTC's proposed Gligar set is probably the scariest thing to face in Sand at the moment and deserves a mention for sure.

Mantyke should get the main mention if you decide to add Rain to the OP.

 

[skies]

You're missing the baddest abuser of them all: Substitute / Swords Dance / Earthquake / Acrobatics Gligar @ Berry Juice with Sand Veil. Not only is this Gligar terrifying enough outside of sand, but with sand, it can spam Substitute until the opponent misses (and you have a ton of chances for this thanks to Berry Juice) and then set up Swords Dance and sweep from there.

If you want to abuse sand, you should be using Pokemon like Gligar, Lileep, or Tirtouga that get a nice benefit from sand, but are not dependent on sand to do their job. Sand got a big nerf this gen, especially when you consider the fact that Hippopotas needs that Eviolite and can't afford to use Smooth Rock, so sand will only be up for a very limited time. I don't think using Pokemon like Drilbur / Sandshrew is the way to go, as they're not very good outside of sand (well, Drilbur is decent, but only if it's a Mold Breaker spinner, which sand abusing Drilbur's don't use), and even with weather, they aren't as scary as say Chlorophyll Bellsprout in the sun. However, using Pokemon that function fine outside of sand and get a nice buff in it works pretty well.

Hippopotas is also a good defensive Pokemon on its own, but most of the time, Gligar overshadows it. Of course, you could use both on the same team, but note that you will be compounding weaknesses.

Added, but I've got a question about the bottom, you need Sand in the first place, so Hippopotas is mandatory, but then again, it will most likely compound weaknesses.

 

[The Quasar]

Reserved to briefly speaking about another "new" sand abuser, Helioptile.

Edit:

This new VI gen pokemon with his cute appearance, it's so really dangerous and pixie instead. Strarting on his decent SAtk and remarkable speed, he has in his strong abilities, the right adaptability on weather teams. In this particular case, Sand Veil with evasion at 1.25x and inherint immunity to Sandstrom is a good talent to use. A scarfed version (he learns u-turn in addition to classic v-switch) and HP Ice to "kick and catch" possible counter like Gligar. His movepool isn't so well-stocked but he could a good LC pivot.

And also a rain dish ability in sand, could be a good choice, getting very well water-moves as predict.

 

[Goddess Briyella]

Sand is a weather that chips off opponent's HP as long as they are not a Steel-, Ground-, or Rock-type Pokemon, with Rock-types gaining a 50% boost to their Special Defense while it is in effect. Sand also activates Sand Rush, Sand Force, and Sand Veil (which is banned). It also changes Weather Ball to a Rock-type Move and makes it 100 Base Power, but there aren't many common Weather Ball users, let alone one that can make use of it in the Sand. ​

Sand Veil is not banned in Little Cup.

Additionally, since there are also recently made threads on other weather conditions in Little Cup, you might make links to the other threads when you mention them in the OP.

 

[Darkamber8828]

Eviolite Hippo is pretty great, but if you have a sand team to use Sandstorm and don't just run Hippo to beat Drought teams, you probably want Smooth Rock. Which makes Hippo a lot more fragile.

Also, has anyone tried Cacnea? 85 Attack is nothing to sneeze at, and SD/Bullet Seed/Sucker Punch/Drain Punch with Sand Veil is annoying as shit. Sexy Water and Grass resists too.